(ANSA) - TRIESTE, JUL 28 - In the first six months of 2026, the Trieste Seaport Terminal recorded 20.24 million metric tons of crude oil unloaded, marking a 5.75% increase compared to the same period in 2025 and the second-best result ever since 2018. This was announced by Siot, an Italian company belonging to the Tal Group, noting that oil tankers unload crude oil in Trieste, which is then transported via the Tal pipeline to refineries in Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic. The data, based on the first six months of the year, shows an average of one ship calling every 21 hours. A total of 208 ships docked, compared to the 198 recorded during the same period last year. This increase was recorded despite international tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. "This result confirms Trieste's role as a strategic gateway for the supply of raw materials to Central Europe," comments Siot Ceo, Alessandro Gorla. "We've achieved this in part thanks to the expansion of the pipeline's capacity completed through the Tal Plus project, which has strengthened our transport capacity to the Czech Republic while reducing its dependence on other supply sources. It's not just a matter of volume: it demonstrates that infrastructure designed to adapt remains reliable even when the international landscape changes rapidly." Since it began operations, the terminal has handled 272 grades of crude oil, tailoring its scheduling and transportation to the specific needs of the connected refineries. This flexibility is also reflected in the origins of the crude oil handled in 2026, which came from 18 different countries, notably Kazakhstan (32.2%), Libya (19.6%), and Azerbaijan (11.8%), followed by a group of African, Middle Eastern, and North American countries. (ANSA).